COLUMN: Dozy’s Rambles on Christmas

AS THE countdown to Christmas continues, hands up all of those who have purchased presents, etc., online? How many have actually received them yet?

Despite the ‘mobs’ going shopping over the past couple of weeks and the panic buying about to begin, more and more of us are shopping from the comfort of our own homes, or on the train, or the bus, or at work, purely by picking up our laptops, iPads and using our PCs.

I am as guilty as anyone, having ordered nine items via the net and then I am thinking that this is a doddle, I need never go anywhere near a shop again.

How wrong could I be! As the days moved on, I started to worry slightly as the promised days of delivery passed, then a ring at the door, it’s a man from one of the delivery companies.

I said to him that I was concerned that I have had to wait so long for the parcel and there should be another eight, he said I wish you luck, as the warehouse is overflowing with thousands of parcels that are arriving daily.

And then to cap it off, the parcel he had for me was in fact for a neighbour! So I was still waiting for the nine.

I read in the papers that a major delivery company has now refused to accept new parcels as they are overflowing with packages waiting to be delivered.

I am pleased to report that eight have in fact now arrived and at the time of writing this, I am still waiting for number nine to arrive. It will be really embarrassing if it isn’t here by tomorrow as I need it for a ‘secret Santa’ gift.

So why do we shop online? Convenience? Price? Choice? I am sure that it’s all three and more. The secret, of course, is to shop earlier and earlier for Christmas.

The Christmas spirit is alive and well in both Adur and Worthing, with both areas alive with festive lighting. Many householders having invested greatly in an abundance of lights that would put Disney to shame. Many people who are lighting their homes, at the same time draining the National Grid but on the ‘bright side’ (excuse the pun), raising funds for some great local charities.

Entertainment on offer is brilliant, starting with pantomime at the Ropetackle in Shoreham, where you will find Sleeping Beauty starring local resident Carole Cleveland, aka the fifth Monty Python.

Going along to Worthing Theatres, there is Aladdin at the Connaught Theatre starring S Club 7’s Jon Lee. This is Worthing’s traditional panto with loads of laughs and slapstick.

Finally, there is Jack Frost’s Frozen Christmas at the Pavilion Theatre starring Marcus Collins from the X Factor and Richard David-Caine from CBeeBies. This is very much a stage show, with a lot of Christmas cheer and music, full of talent. There is absolutely no reason to leave our wonderful area as it really is on our doorstep.